A Cornish farmer has sought free business advice about life after the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) - and is encouraging other farmers to do likewise.
Peter Green from Rosemanowes Farm near Falmouth recently signed up to AHDB’s free Farm Business Review service (FBR) to help the transition in payment systems.
He took over the farm in 2007 after a family bereavement, while he was working as an accountant for British Airways in London.
Peter made the decision to scale back the enterprise, sell 250 head of cattle and run a system where it would tick over on low inputs until he had a clear plan of what the next step for the business was.
“In 2011, me and my then girlfriend and now wife, Clare, made the decision to give up our life and careers in London and return to Falmouth to work full-time off-farm and run the farm part time.
"We wanted to make sure there was an improved return on capital compared to what had historically been the case and therefore we had to push other income streams to supply the farm in order to achieve this.
“After the birth of our twins in 2018, my wife and I sat down and decided that I would leave employment and invest my time in the farm and Clare would continue to work full time at Cornish Mutual.
"Our target was to replace my salary with the surplus of the farm over a 10-year period, without relying on BPS, which would by then have ceased.”
Signing up to the FBR service has allowed Peter to access free advice through AKC Consultant, James Berry.
“Just because I have a small business, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be aiming to be in the top 20-25 per cent in terms of performance,” says Peter.
“Signing up to the FBR service has given me a great opportunity to sense check what we are doing and speak to a professional who is exposed to various business models – some that are working well and others that need to improve.
“I was brought up on this farm but didn’t study agriculture and moved to London for my career, so I am mindful that I don’t perhaps have a large amount of agricultural education and therefore I am always keen to learn more."
Farming 155 acres across two holdings, Peter now runs a small herd of 20 stabiliser cows of which half the progeny are sold as stores, a quarter are kept for replacements and the remainder used to supply beef boxes privately off farm to the local community.
By consulting with Mr Berry, Peter has been able to identify opportunities as well as potential issues which could affect the future of the business.
“I sat down with James, and we used the FBR online tool as well as looking at our business’ profit and loss statement to see what impact the BPS reductions were likely to have.
“The FBR service has helped us think in more detail about the future post BPS as we still have very little guidance on what support schemes the government may introduce.
“Consultants such as James, together with the support of AHDB’s FBR service, can help guide, prepare, and predict some of the steps we may face in the future and I would encourage people to sign up to the service as they have nothing to lose.”
For more information visit ahdb.org.uk/farm-business-review.
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